Tell Me the Truth
by TheSleepingNeko
Summary: Amy is tired of Sonic always running away from her. She's made up her mind to find out if he really likes her, or not. But even Sonic himself doesn't honestly know... Sonamy. Set one year after anime. Hiatus.
1. Amy's Dilemma

**A/N: I apologize in advance.  
This was my first fanfic ever a few years ago. It's only still here for memory's sake.  
If you _do_ enjoy this, however, you can say so. I'd be happy that someone gets pleasure from this. I'm revising it a little merely for grammar and flow.  
~_ T S N_ **

* * *

**~ Tell Me the Truth ~**

**1. Amy's Dilemma**

* * *

Amy slowly lowered her oversized hammer as she came to a stop, the blue figure she'd been chasing already disappearing over the horizon. She was confused.

Why did he always run from her? She had grown up a lot in the year since they'd sent Chris home. Sonic seemed to have changed a bit, too. She found him spending more and more time hanging out with her. And she'd wasted no time in taking advantage of this, but now...she felt she might have been a little too bold...

* * *

_Side-by-side, Amy and Sonic walked home toward the younger's house. She was reminiscing about all the fun they had had together that day. They had gone on a picnic and Amy had been sure to pack chili-dogs. Her mind slowly filled with romanticized ideas the longer she thought._

_Beside her, the blue hedgehog sighed contentedly, then stopped before Amy's house._

_Before he could turn and say goodbye, however, Amy grabbed his arm, stopping him._

_"Sonic?" she asked on impulse. She was remembering the advice Rouge had given her that morning before their outing. She glanced at the ground, then up at Sonic's face. "Sonic, do you... Do you think that I'm...pretty?"_

_"Um..." was his initial reply, taken aback by the sudden inquiry. Amy was looking at him with big, questioning eyes. "Sure, I guess... Why? Did someone say you weren't?"_

_"No, not like that. I mean...do you think I'm _pretty_?" She gestured to herself._

_Sonic stared at her for a second before glancing behind her. "Hey, isn't that Bokkun?" he unexpectedly asked._

_The pink hedgehog turned around. "Where? I don't see…" But when she turned back, Sonic was nowhere in sight. "…anybody," she finished quietly. Then she spotted a blue tail slowly disappearing behind a nearby tree. "Sonic!" she yelled, angry and hurt._

_Obviously realizing that he'd been caught, Sonic looked out around the tree. "Whoaa!" he exclaimed as Amy whipped out her piko piko hammer, fierce expression on her face._

_"_Sonic_!" she yelled in frustration, running toward him._

_The only smart move then for the blue hedgehog was retreat. And retreat he did, leaving Amy behind in the dust in a matter of seconds._

* * *

Amy sank to her knees, rage fading away into hurt. Why was he behaving so oddly? Over the past few months, he had been acting a bit weird. He had begun to spend more time with her, but when she tried to be friendly right back, Sonic would get uncomfortable ad make an excuse to leave—or leave without a reason, like now.

What was going on?

Rising to her feet, the girl decided that if answers didn't present themselves to her, then she was going to find out, herself. Did he think she was attractive? Did he share the same feelings that she had always felt for him? And if so, why did he keep running off? She made up her mind to speak to him about it tomorrow.

When the next day came, however, and Amy knocked on Sonic's door, there was no answer. She knocked again, then called, "Sonic?" Still no reply with either attempt. At first, she just assumed that he was probably out running or something. But she couldn't contact him all that day... Or the next day... Or the next.

Sure, she would catch the occasional glimpse of the blue speed demon, as a streak or just out of the corner of her eye, but when she would turn to see him, he would be gone.

Finally, Amy had had enough. She was going catch Sonic and _make_ him speak to her. And she knew just who she needed for the job.

What do you mean you want me to 'lure Sonic to the beach'? Asked Tails, incredulous. "He _hates_ water! How am I supposed to get him to a beach?"

Well, _duh_, you're not gonna _tell_ him that you're going there. That's why I said '_lure_'! Go ask him to take a walk with you or something. I'll take over once you get there."

"You're kidding, a walk? Why on Mobius would I ask Sonic to take a walk with me?"

"Tell him that you wanna talk," replied Amy, exasperated.

"About what?"

"Well I dunno, make something up! Talk about that inventor-type stuff you're trying to work out or, or girls! Yes, that's it, perfect! Talk about girls with him! See what you can learn from him—what he thinks about me, that is."

Tails couldn't believe this: Amy wanted him to ask his best friend to take a stroll down to the beach...so that they could discuss...women. The fox could feel the heat rising to his furry cheeks with dread.

Amy took Tails' silence to be consent. "Well then, it's settled. I'll be at the beach tomorrow around 5:00. Don't be too late."

"I sure hope you mean in the afternoon," Tails muttered, slightly sullen at realizing there was no way out of this and that it was all Amy's fault.

The pink hedgehog have him a look that said "_you can't be serious_".

"Fine," Tails relented. "But why the beach?"

"Because," Amy said, smiling, "it's big and open, romantic, _and_ Sonic won't have any trees to hide behind."

"Huh?" asked a puzzled Tails, but Amy was already gone, workshop door slamming behind her.

Tails just stood there for a moment, perplexed, and not at all looking forward to the role he would have to play tomorrow.

* * *

**Revised: 1/1/2012**


	2. Shopping

**2-Shopping **

That whole day, Tails kept an eye on Sonic so he would know where to find him when 5:00 came around.

It was 4:35. Tails knew where Sonic was; he had seen him hanging around the mall. Why the mall, Tails didn't know, but he looked there anyway. He found his friend looking through a rack of women's dresses.

"Uh, Sonic?" Tails addressed the blue hedgehog.

"Wha- Oh! Tails! What are you doing here?"

"Er, I was gonna ask you the same thing…" he motioned to the dress rack.

Sonic's cheeks reddened. "Oh, uh, ya' see, I uh, I have an aunt who's, who's birthday is coming up, and I was gonna buy, I was gonna buy her a, um dress. For her birthday."

Tails blinked. "I see," he said slowly.

"Heh-heh," said Sonic, grinning nervously.

"Uh, how old is your aunt turning?" asked Tails.

"Well, she, she's turning uhh, forty."

"Don't you think that dress seems a little, I dunno, young, childish, for someone who's turning forty?" asked Tails.

Sonic looked down at the cute, flower-patterned springtime dress he was still holding and, blushing, quickly shoved the hanger back on the rack, knocking down several other dresses in his rush. The hangers clattered to the tile floor. Flustered, he tried to put them back, only to cause more to fall.

"Here," said Tails, "lemmie help." Tails kneeled down on the floor and helped Sonic pick up all of the dresses. When they were done, Sonic stood up, looked at Tails for a few seconds, then began sorting through the dressed again, glancing over his shoulder at Tails every few moments.

Tails just stood there awkwardly for a little while, then walked over to the clothing rack and started helping Sonic pick through the dresses. "So, what size does she wear?" asked the young fox as they worked.

"Size?" repeated Sonic.

"Yeah, size. Ya' know, how big the dress is?"

"Um, not that big, in my opinion."

"Sonic, 'not that big' isn't a size. And you can't buy someone clothes without knowing what size they wear."

"Uh, then, watcha' think I should get her?"

"Well, um, I guess you could always get her a pair of earrings, or something."

"That's a great idea! I'll get her a pair of earrings! You wanna come help me pick out a pair?"

"Well, actually I-" Tails knew he was supposed to be luring Sonic to the beach, but then he realized he would never get his friend out of the mall unless he helped him.

"Sure," he said, "let's do it."

"What about these?" asked Tails, holding up yet another pair of earrings.

"Nah," said Sonic for the umpteenth time. "Too silver."

"They're supposed to be silver!"

"Yeah, but they just seem… too silver. I really can't see my aunt wearing those."

"And these?" asked Tails, now holding a pair of golden hanging earrings, "They're not silver."

"Too formal," stated Sonic. "I want something pretty, but simple."

Suddenly, Tails spotted the perfect pair. "You mean," he said, holding up a card with two earrings on it, "like these?"

Sonic's eyed widened and he grabbed the card. "Perfect." They were metal with a beautiful white lily painted on the front of each one. They were so detailed that Sonic just stared at them for several moments. The lady who had been standing at the counter for the past fifteen minutes, watching them, asked, "So, you finally found something you like?" Sonic nodded. The woman took the card Sonic handed to her. "They sure are pretty. I bet the girl who gets these is gonna feel real special. These for your girlfriend?"

Sonic's cheeks turned pink as he stuttered, "Eh, no. They're, I mean I- I'm-"

"They're for his aunt's birthday," Tails cut in.

"Well I hope she likes them," said the woman, handing Sonic back the card with the earrings.

"Thanks," Sonic said, paying for the earrings and leaving. As they left the building, Tails looked down at his watch. It read 4:57. Yikes! He had to get Sonic down to the beach!

"Hey Sonic? You wanna walk around for a bit. We could chat and stuff."

Sonic gave him a strange look but said, "Uh, okay. If you want."

They started walking and Tails steered them in the direction of the beach. Tails realized he didn't know where on the beach Amy wanted him to meet her, but he figured they could walk until he saw her. "So, um, Sonic, how's life?"

Sonic glanced at the boy, confused. "Fine, uh, haven't seen Eggman in a while."

"That's good," said Tails lamely. He remembered what Amy had said. "Sonic, what do you think about girls?"


	3. Picnic?

**3-Picnic?**

Sonic stopped, staring at Tails, dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"Ya' know, girls. In general." Tails continued walking.

Sonic followed. "Er, they're fine, I guess. Kinda, well, pretty. Annoying when they scream. Or when they chase you," he smiled, adding, "Literally or figuratively."

"Heh-heh. Yeah," said Tails. Amy wanted to know if Sonic liked her. He couldn't believe he was doing this. "If you like someone, you should tell them, right?"

"You mean, like them, or really like them?"

"Eh, really like them," Tails answered quietly.

"Well, usually you should tell them, unless it would hurt someone else… I mean, it's important to let them know how you feel. But if they don't feel the same way, you should respect their wishes."

Tails could feel his face burning with humiliation. He risked a glance at Sonic who was nervously twisting the fingers of his gloves. He looked as if he felt almost as awkward as Tails felt.

"Ya' know," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head, "I feel really strange talking about this." He looked at his younger friend with a crooked smile.

"Yeah," said Tails, nodding and looking away. "Me too." Tails spotted Amy, but Sonic hadn't seen her yet. And Tails didn't want him to see her till they got closer.

Sonic interrupted Tails' thoughts, asking, "This wouldn't be about Cream, would it?"

Amazingly, Tails' face turned redder than it already was. "No! I mean, that's not what I meant! I mean, I like her, but- I mean not like- that's not what I was talking about!"

"That's okay buddy." Sonic said, patting Tails on the back. "It's none of my business who you like."

Tails was mortified. This was not how the conversation was supposed to go! Tails was saved any more humiliation when Sonic spotted Amy.

He stopped. "What's Amy doing here?"

"I dunno," Tails lied. "Let's go and see." He started to walk towards Amy, then realized that Sonic wasn't following him. "Come on, Sonic."

"Ya' know Tails, she looks kinda busy to me," Sonic said taking a step back. "Maybe we shouldn't disturb her. Talk to her a different time."

He was turning to leave when Tails grabbed his wrist, pulling him along. "C'mon Sonic. We're already here. The least we could do is say hi."

Reluctantly, Sonic followed.

"Hey Amy." Sonic said as he stood in front of her, waving at her with one hand, and rubbing the back of his head with the other.

"Hi Sonic!" she called cheerfully. "You wanna have a picnic with me?" she asked, gesturing to the checkered blanket she was sitting on and the basket beside her.

"I dunno, Amy. I really should be-"

"I packed chilidogs," she coaxed.

Sonic glanced at the basket full of food, then back at the way they had come. "Well… maybe. But I shouldn't stay too long." He sat down on the blanket.

"Here." She handed Sonic two chilidogs. Then she looked up at Tails. "Gee Tails, I think you got too much sun or something; your face is all red."

"Yeah," Tails said sullenly. He walked aways a little bit and plopped down on the sand, staring out at the ocean.

"So, Sonic," Amy said, presenting her best smile to the blue hedgehog. "how's it been?"

"It, it's been fine," he answered, feeling self-conscious sitting right next to her. How did his quills look? Did his breath stink? No, it probably just smelled like chilidogs. Was that good or bad? He knew he was sweating, but he couldn't do anything about that.

"Good," said Amy, looking down at the ground. She looked up at him, into his jade eyes. His eyes stared back for a few moments, then quickly looked away. "Sonic," Their eyes connected again. "why did you run away from me like that yesterday?"

"I um, I told you. I thought I saw Bokkun-"

"No Sonic. The real reason." She edged a little closer. "Sonic," His heart was beating faster and faster, almost as fast as he could run it seemed. "Sonic, tell me the truth; do you like me?"

"Wha-what do you mean, Amy?"

"I mean," she said scooting closer still, "do you like me?" Her eyes were questioning, searching his face for the answer.

Sonic's eyes were wide. "Amy I-"

"Sonic." She leaned closer, their noses almost touching. He could feel her breath on his face. Now he fervently hoped his breath didn't smell bad. He looked into her green eyes.

"I, I should be going," he stated simply, breaking their gaze. He stood up.

"Sonic," Amy protested, "please answer me."

He looked at her, sitting on the picnic blanket, pretty as can be, and answered, "I gotta go." He ran off, leaving Amy on the beach, alone, tear beginning to stream down her cheeks.

Tails, who had been watching the whole thing, walked over to Amy.

"Amy, I'm sure-"

She stood up, shaking her fist after Sonic, yelling, "You'll regret this! You hear me? You'll regret this, Sonic the Hedgehog!"


	4. Seeking Advice

**4-Seeking Advice**

Sonic ran. He ran faster and faster. Away from Amy, away from his problems. And away from the tide of new feelings that welled up inside him when he was around her. What was wrong with him? He didn't used to feel like this.

But over the past several months, Amy had matured a lot, and he had found himself missing the times when she chased him around. She had asked if he liked her. She had asked for the truth. He wasn't sure if he did or not. But he had the feeling that he probably did. And if he did like her, was it mere friendship, or was it something more? He didn't like feeling like this; he liked being in charge, in control, not scared and unknowing.

"Why do I have to feel like this?" he shouted into the wind as he ran. He slowed down. "I was perfectly happy before! But now I'm," He came to a stop. "I'm just, so confused." He stood there for several silent seconds, the grass in the surrounding fields swaying gently in the breeze. He sat down in the field, clasping the sides of is head. "Uurgh!" he exclaimed. It was so frustrating!

Maybe someone else could help him, someone who had had experience with females. Maybe they could help him sort out his feelings. But, he couldn't tell anyone that there was something going on between him and Amy. Then he remembered what Tails had been talking about earlier that day. That was it! He would act like this was Tails' problem and he was trying to help his little buddy out!

He got up and zoomed off, almost confident about what he was doing. Off to Angel Island to seek the advice of Knuckles the Echidna.

As Sonic approached the shrine of the Master Emerald, he heard Knuckles shouting at someone. "And if you ever come back, you're gonna see just how mad I can get!" Sonic saw Knuckles shaking his fist at Rouge, who was hovering slightly above him, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Whatever you say, Knuckie," said Rouge, winking at Knuckles, then flying away.

"What was that about?" asked Sonic, walking up behind Knuckles.

Knuckles turned to face Sonic and replied, "What is it ever about?" Then, "So what brings you here?"

Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Well, ya' see, I- I mean Tails has a kinda problem. And I was wondering… if I could get your advice. For him."

"What kind of advice?"

"Er, about some, girl problems."

"Ha! Tails, has girl problems? Ha-ha! You're kidding!" Sonic shook his head. "Well my advice for the kid is: they're not worth it. The last thing you need is some girl following you around."

"But, what if he, maybe, likes the girl, but he's not sure."

"If he likes the girl then there must be something wrong with him."

"But, like I said, he's not really sure if he likes her or not. I mean, she always follows him around, and it used to be a little annoying, but now, he doesn't mind it so much. He even kinda likes it, sometimes."

Knuckles smirked. "Follows him around? That sounds a lot like Amy to me." Then he looked closely at Sonic. "Tails isn't interested in Amy, is he?"

"No, no, no!" Sonic said, frantically waving his hands. "Actually, I thought it might be Cream. But hey, if it was Amy, what advice would you give him?"

"That's easy," stated the echidna. "I'd tell him to stay as far away from her as possible. Girls are nothing but trouble. Trust me, I speak from experience."

"Yeah, thanks," Sonic said, disappointed. He walked away.

"Any time!" called Knuckles.

Sonic crawled out of bed, yawning and walked across the room. He looked at himself in the mirror for a few moments, studying his reflection. What did Amy see in him? He wasn't particularly good looking in his opinion. But he knew, there were more than just looks to like about someone.

He sighed, deciding it would still probably be best to talk to someone else about how to handle his feelings. Particularly someone with prior experience. Shadow wouldn't be any good. He'd probably just give Sonic advice similar to Knuckles'. And all that it would do would be to heighten Shadow's opinion of Sonic being a weakling.

He had already tried the Chaotix; they hadn't been of much help either. Vector had given plenty of good advice - on how a young fox should act on his first date. And Espio seemed to be an expert on where you could take a seven-year old rabbit to have fun. Charmy had been confused about the whole topic and asked Vector. Whereupon, Vector had had to explain the whole idea of dating...

_~Flashback~_

"And that's basically it, Charmy," concluded Vector at last.

"Cool!" said Charmy, excited. "When can I date someone?"

Vector patted the little bee on the head. "I think you're a little too young."

"Am not!" stated Charmy indignantly. "I'm five years old!"

"That's what he said," said Espio from across the room.

Charmy stuck his tongue out at the chameleon, then turned back to Vector, clasping his hands together and putting on a pitiful expression. "Pleeease! If I'm old enough to have to have a job, I should be old enough to date someone too, right?"

"Well," said Vector, giving Charmy's words some thought, "who would you want to go out with, anyway?"

"I-" Then Charmy noticed Sonic standing there, still listening. "Uh, could I tell you in secret? I don't want anyone else to know."

"Uh, okay, I guess. Well, I'll be seeing you, Sonic," Vector said, giving Sonic a wave. I hope we helped with Tails' problem." He opened a door and walked into another room, Charmy flying after him. The door closed.

Sonic stood in the middle of the room, not knowing if he was supposed to leave now, or not. He looked over at Espio. The chameleon was sitting, cross-legged at the other end of the room, looking at Sonic, never blinking. Sonic shifted uncomfortably. Espio watched him closely. Sonic took a few steps to his right. Espio's eyes followed Sonic's movements. Sonic shifted again and said, "Um, why are you staring at me?"

Never letting his eyes off Sonic's figure, Espio responded, "I am not staring at you; I am merely studying your face with great intensity."

"Yeah... Why?"

Espio squinted. "You're hiding something."

That's when Sonic decided to leave. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you later Espio. Tell

Vector and Charmy I said bye to them too." Sonic walked out the front door.

_~End Flashback~_

Sonic guessed that, either Espio really knew something, or that he just trying to creep Sonic out; he hoped it was the second option. Who else was there? Sonic finally decided on Tails, considering the fact that he seemed to have girl issues too. Maybe they could sort them out together...


	5. More Help

**5-More Help**

Tails cocked his ear. There it was again. Was someone knocking at his door? That was strange; people usually just walked right in. He slid himself out from underneath the X-Tornado and walked over to his workshop door, wiping his hands on an old rag.

"Yeah?" he said, opening the door. "Sonic? What are you doing here?"

"Hiya, Tails. Eh, about yesterday…"

"What about it?" asked the fox, thinking back on yesterday's events.

"Ya' wanted- ya' said you wanted to talk about, eh, girls. So, uh, here I am," said Sonic, thinking he sounded completely ridiculous.

Tails was mortified. Yesterday's conversation was just a ploy to get Sonic to go to the beach to be with Amy. Sonic wasn't supposed to take Tails seriously!

"Sonic, you really don't have to-"

"It's okay, buddy. I don't mind," Sonic said, walking into the room. "Anything to help out a friend."

Tails' cheeks turned pink as Sonic sat down on a chair. This was not supposed to happen! He quickly hid his face behind the X-Tornado, finishing his repairs on the little plane.

Tails heard Sonic ask, "So, um, where should I begin?"

"You had much experience with girls?" asked Tails boldly, hoping to keep the conversation about Sonic and not about himself.

"Not, really. I mean, there are admirers and fans and stuff. And there's… Amy. But nothing really, real. If ya' get what I mean."

"Uh-huh," said the fox from the other side of the room.

"But, ya' know," said Sonic, seeing an opening, "I do have this friend, acquaintance if you will. He's having a few… problems with girls, and he asked for my advice."

"Yeah?" asked Tails.

"Yeah," said the hedgehog. "Ya' see, there's this girl. He's known her for years. She always chases after him and he always just, runs away. But now, he feels really guilty whenever he does that. And also, now he feels really conscious of what she thinks or likes. And he always wants to look nice around her; he worries about how his breath smells, about how his hair looks, everything. And whenever he's around her, her pretty face, her adorable smile, his heart beats faster and faster, and his tongue doesn't seem to work right. He can never find anything sensible to say and she always seems so… perfect; her laugh, her smile, her personality, the way she swings her- her… tennis racket. He just wants to be around her. But, I guess, he's just too… shy about it."

"Sonic," Tails said, coming around the plane, "does he like her? I mean, does he really like her?"

"Yeah," sighed Sonic, meeting Tails' gaze. "I think so."

"Then you should tell her."

Sonic sat there, silent, for a little while, staring at the ground. Then he looked back up at Tails. "But ya' see, I'm not really sure about any of this."

"You just said you liked her. You should tell her the truth."

"Yeah, I probably should."

"There's no 'probably' to it. And just think, once you tell her, it'll be out in the open and you won't have to hide it anymore."

"I guess you're right. But, one question: How did you know? Was it that obvious?"

His best friend just looked at Sonic. "Wow, for a hero, you sure are naïve. And yes, it was; for me at least."

Sonic grinned sheepishly. "But hey, Tails, like, when should I tell her?"

"I'd say the next time you see her. You should tell her you're sorry for what you did. Then you should let her know the truth about how you feel about her."

"Well then, I uh, I guess I'd better go and find her."

"Good luck," said Tails, as Sonic left the workshop.

Sonic walked towards town to find Amy.

"Soooniiic!" called an annoying voice. Sonic turned to see Bokkun flying towards him. He stopped in front of Sonic, and in his annoying, bratty voice said, "I've got a message for you from Dr. Eggman." He flew over to the fence Sonic was walking next to and placed a yellow TV set on one of the posts. Bokkun pushed a button on the TV and it turned on, revealing Dr. Eggman's face.

"Sonic, this is to inform you that I have your Dear Amy Rose here with me." The camera turned to display Amy, hanging from the ceiling by a rope, hands tied behind her back.

"Sonic!" she called, "save me!"

"Amy!" Sonic gasped, even though she couldn't hear him.

The camera panned back to Dr. Eggman's face. "I will return her to you if you hand over a Chaos Emerald in exchange. If you decline, I will allow my robots to do with her what they please. You have until noon, tomorrow to decide."

After the message ended, the television, as always, exploded. But Sonic wasn't there to see it, or to see Bokkun frantically trying to put out the fire on the now burning fencepost. He was already most of the way to Tails' workshop.


	6. Amy's Mistake

**6-Amy's Mistake**

Amy swung from the rope hanging from the ceiling. After Dr. Eggman finished his message and Bokkun flew off to deliver it, she asked, "Um, now, could you do something about these ropes?"

"Of course," said Dr. Eggman, politely. "Decoe, Bocoe, tighten the ropes!" The two robots obeyed.

"Hey, Shouted Amy, "We had a deal!"

"Yes, we did."

"Then why are you tightening my ropes?"

"My dear Amy, you surely must have known that I would not pass up such a fine opportunity as this to gain one of the Chaos Emeralds." With that, Eggman left.

Amy looked down. She should have known better. But she had wanted so bad to get Sonic's attention, for him to worry about her, that she had done something really ignorant.

_~Flashback~_

The moon high, Amy pounded on the door to Dr. Eggman's base, shouting, "Eggman! Eggman, open up, I know you're in there!"

"What do you want?" yelled Dr. Eggman from an upper-story window.

"I wanna talk to you!" she shouted back.

"It's the middle of the night. Why couldn't you come banging on my front door in the morning?"

"But I want to talk to you now!"

"Why should I talk to you?"

"So we don't have to keep yelling like this!"

Eggman thought for several seconds. "Hmm, I suppose you won't let me get any sleep until I do?"

"What do you think?"

"Fine, but this had better be important!" A minute later, the doors slid open to reveal Dr. Eggman, wearing a blue-striped nightgown and matching nightcap. "What do you want at this hour?" he asked, a scowl on his face.

"What are you wearing?" asked Amy critically, eyeing his apparel.

"They're called, 'pajamas'," he said, fingering the material. "Unlike you animals, we humans wear a separate set of clothes to bed."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor? From me? I'm touched," he said sarcastically, laying a hand over his heart.

"Quit it; I'm serious!"

"What do you want me to do?" he inquired.

"I want you to kidnap me."

"You want me to what?"

"I said I want you to kidnap me."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Uh, because you get to kidnap me? I want to get Sonic's attention. I want him to rescue me! I want to know how he feels about me."

"Huh. So you want me to kidnap you, because you want Sonic to fall in love with you?"

"Well, actually, I think he may already like me. And I also think that this would be the perfect test to see what feelings he has for me."

"What do I get out of it?" Dr. Eggman asked.

"You get to hold me prisoner. To a cruel person like you, that should be payment enough. But you have to let him rescue me."

"Fair enough. Decoe! Bocoe! Grab her!"

"Hey!" shouted Amy as the two robots grabbed her arms. "Can't this wait till the morning?"

Dr. Eggman grinned as his robots dragged her inside. "Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today!" he said cheerily. "Now, I'm going back to bed."

"Fine. But remember, you gotta let him rescue me!" Amy called as Eggman walked away.

"Very well. Just, let me get some sleep."

"Come with us," said Decoe.

"Yes," said Bocoe. "We will tie you up and gag you."

"No. No gag," she insisted. "I wanna be able to call for help. And easy on the arms." They pulled her down the hallway.

_~End Flashback~_

Now Amy swung from the rope, regretting how naïve she had been. Of course she should have known not to trust Dr. Eggman. But she had been so upset at the time that she hadn't stopped to consider how she could go wrong. All she had thought was, she wanted Sonic, so she would have him rescue him; perfect. And who better to rescue her from, than the evil Dr. Eggman? Amy groaned inwardly; she had been a fool, and that was that.


	7. Rescue Plan

**7-Rescue Plan**

"Tails, we have a problem!" Sonic shouted, bursting through the workshop door.

"What is it?" he asked. "Did you tell her already?"

"No, that's not it. Dr. Eggman has Amy!"

"What?"

"He has her tied up and he wants a Chaos Emerald in exchange for her!"

"What are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna rescue her, what do you think?"

"But we need a plan. Did he set any time restrictions for the delivery of the Chaos Emerald?"

"Did he what?"

"Do we have a deadline?"

"Yeah, tomorrow at noon."

"Okay, let's think up a plan."

"You think up a plan," said Sonic, taking a step towards the door, "I'm going to go save Amy."

"No, Sonic! We have to think this through!"

"Tails," Sonic said, looking directly onto Tails' eyes, "you don't know how much she means to me."

"I think I do," Tails said, returning his friend's gaze. "And it won't help Amy any if you go and yourself captured too."

Sonic's voice was quiet as he said, "I don't want anything thing happen to her. I- I think I…"

"Love her?"

A small amount of pink tinted Sonic's cheeks and he broke their gaze, smiling a little. "Yeah, I guess so." He looked at Tails again, his expression serious. "And I don't want to loose her."

"So let's make a plan so that you don't have to. So that none of us have to."

"Okay."

"Now, I need you to go find Shadow for me."

The three sat around the table, discussing their plan.

"So then, it's settled," concluded Tails. "We'll do it this evening."

Shadow didn't look happy. "I still don't see why we can't just take the Chaos Emeralds with us and go Super. It would make it so much simpler."

"Tails already told you; Knuckles said he needed them for something."

"That still doesn't explain why we can't take the Chaos Emeralds."

Tails rolled his eyes. "Shadow, we're not just gonna just take them from him. Besides, the plan should work out just fine without the gems."

Shadow scowled. "Why does he need them anyway? It would seem to me that rescuing Sonic's girlfriend would be a much more important cause."

"She's not my- never mind."

Shadow cocked an eyebrow at Sonic, his red eyes curious. "Yes?"

Then Tails interrupted the two, saying, "We're going to respect Knuckles' privacy. Whatever he needs them for, I'm sure it's important."

"Fine, but don't expect me to be happy about it."

"Thanks Shadow," Sonic said winking at the black hedgehog. "I owe ya' one."

"Don't you know it," he muttered.

"You ready?" Tails shouted form the open cockpit, starting up the engine. The blue hedgehog jumped up onto the plane's wing and nodded. "All right." The X-Tornado took off. "Don't fall off," Tails joked.

"Why on Mobius would you think I would fall off?" came the shouted reply over the wind.

"I dunno, just be careful."

After a few minutes of flying, "Where is he?"

Tails looked out his window. "Uh… right there," he said pointing at a dark figure running below. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Why do you dislike him so much?"

"I dunno. Were just so… He's just… We're total opposites. We may look similar, but we're not. And he's…" He trailed off.

"Yeah," agreed Tails. "That's Sonic for ya'," he added to himself.


	8. Love?

**8-Love?**

The dark hedgehog ran below the plane, keeping pace easily. He fingered the quills on top of his head; the paint felt funny, but it was all part of the plan. Tails had thought of just about everything. He had even considered the fact that red streaks in his quills would make him easier to spot, so he ran, completely black, blending with the shadows.

He clicked on his walkie-talkie. "Tails, ya' ready? We're almost there."

"Yep. Hey, I'm gonna let you two talk and make sure you got everything straight about the about the diversion." There was a brief moment of silence as Tails handed the walkie-talkie over.

"Shadow?"

"Yeah?"

"You know what to do, right?"

"Of course. And you?"

"Yeah… but if Eggman's done anything to harm her…"

"Chill," said Shadow coolly. "It'll work out fine."

"Yeah."

"So, you have feelings for Amy?"

"Of course not!" lied Sonic. "Why would I?"

"It just seemed like you were awfully eager to come to her rescue."

"I would do the same to any of my friends. That's how it is with friends; we look out for each other and help them when they need it."

Shadow was silent, then, "We're here." And they were.

"When did he do that?"

Tails looked to see what was the matter. "Whoa."

"He's just trying to make it hard on me, isn't he?"

"Well yeah. That's kinda the point," said Tails, looking on at Eggman's defense system. There was now a giant moat surrounding his base. Not to mention, a sprinkler system had been installed. Though, whether this was for defense or just for the health of his lawn, Tails didn't know. But the most imposing addition was the giant robot standing in front of Eggman's base. The water from the sprinklers shot up, drenching the robot's feet and ankles, and filling the air near the ground with a fine mist. "But of course," Tails mumbled to himself, "Sonic can't stand water; it's his weakness. So what better way to guard your base from Sonic? Of course, water. Not to mention the giant robot," he added.

"Wouldn't that thing rust a little?"

"Apparently not," Tails yelled back, angrily. This could ruin his whole plan.

"Ahh, Sonic," said Dr. Eggman, hovering nearby in his ship. "I see you've come to rescue your dear Amy. No Chaos Emerald I suppose?"

"Not a chance."

"What a disappointment. I was hoping for this to be a clean trade. But if you insist on fighting… Who knows, maybe I'll offer her up again as a trade someday."

"That's what you think!" shouted Tails flying his plane away. "All right, we don't have to stall him for long. Just make it convincing and don't get hurt."

"Fine, but keep me away from that water."

"Gotcha."

Amy sat in her cell, arms tied tightly behind her back. Dr. Eggman had eventually removed her from her hanging position and transferred her to a cell, complaining that, even with a gag, she made far to much racket.

She couldn't stand up; her ankles were tied too. She had tried several times to get the ropes off, but she couldn't break them, untie them, or slip out of them. Eggman had posted only a few guards, saying that, if Sonic managed to defeat his guard robot, he would need all the others ones to fight Sonic off.

Suddenly, there was a scuffle in the darkness outside her cell, then the clanks and thuds of several metal objects falling to the ground. After that, she could hear someone fiddling with the lock. There was a click, then the door swung open. A dark figure stepped into the cell. "Sonic?" But then she saw that the hedgehog was not blue, but black. "Shadow," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

He looked away, not letting her see his eyes, and said, "I'm here to rescue you."

"But where's Sonic? And how did you find me?"

He answered gruffly with a small chuckle, "You were wearing perfume; a lot of it."

Amy was glad that the darkness of her cell hid the blush creeping up on her cheeks as she was untied. The whole plan to win Sonic over with a romantic rescue sounded ridiculous to her now.

He picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the cell. Outside, she could see the forms of the robots whom had been guarding her, lying on the ground. "How did you get yourself captured anyway?"

"Well, I'll tell if you promise not to tell Sonic."

"Sounds fair enough." He started running with her in his arms.

"Well, Sonic's been acting really strange lately."

"Strange how?"

"Well, he acts like he enjoys spending time with me, but when I want to spend time with him, he runs away from me. And when we were on the beach together, and I asked him if he liked me or not, he ran away. So I decided to let Eggman capture me. So, if Sonic really cared about me, he would come and rescue me. But if not, it would be just as well that I was captured, because I wouldn't want to live without him."

"Sounds a bit melodramatic don't ya' think?"

"Maybe, but the fact is: he didn't come and rescue me; you did. I guess he really

doesn't feel the same about me as I do about him."

"Don't be certain of everything; things aren't always what they seem." He set her down at a junction in the tunnel. "Let's see, I got in through the vents, but it would be faster if I just ran. I needed stealth getting in here, but to get out I'll need speed; I don't know how long Tails will bee able to distract Eggman." Amy watched him think. "This way," he said, pointing down the right tunnel.

"Shadow, tell me the truth, do you think Sonic likes me?" Amy asked, looking at him through the semi-darkness.

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he's unsure," he said, looking at her directly for the first time.

Amy blinked and took an involuntary step back. Instead of her rescuer's eyes being red, they were green.


	9. Tricks

**9-Tricks**

Tails maneuvered his plane, making it dive, avoiding the attacks from the giant robot. It turned out that the sprinklers weren't just for the health of Eggman's lawn, seeing as how they were now shooting high-pressured streams of water at Tails' plane, trying to knock it off balance.

Tails had done a good job of avoiding the water so far, but at last, one of the geysers hit the little plane, making it tip dangerously. Tails managed to keep the plane from flipping, but its occupants were drenched. Tails glanced back at his companion to see how bad the damage was, and his heart sank. Balancing on his left wing, stood a hedgehog, blue paint dripping from his quills to reveal Shadow's red-streaked, black ones. The diversion was ruined.

"Shadow?" yelled Dr. Eggman. "Then where's-?"

"Tails reached down and grabbed his walkie-talkie, yelling into it, "Sonic! Get outta there! He's on to us!"

Sonic grabbed the device and spoke into it, asking, "Tails, what happened? Are you okay?"

"We're fine. Shadow got soaked and now all the paint's coming off. You gotta get outta there!"

"Okay. I've got Amy with me. We'll get out as quickly as we can."

"Okay."

"Sonic?" asked Amy quietly, standing next to the painted-black hedgehog. "Is that really you?"

Sonic gave her a crooked smile. "The one and only."

"Oh Sonic!" she cried and hugged him, knocking him to the floor. "You did come for me!"

"Let go, Amy!" said Sonic, trying to get out of her hold. "We gotta get out before Eggman catches us!"

"You're right," she said, letting go and standing up. "I'm just so glad that you came!"

"Y-yeah," said Sonic, nervously scratching the back of his head. "Uh, c'mon. Let's go." He reached down and lifted her into his arms. Then he ran down the tunnel, stopping a few times at intersections to remember the way. Amy was curled up in Sonic's arms, her own arms wrapped around his neck. She snuggled closer to him, enjoying the warmth provided by his body in the strong wind caused by his speed. And at last they were free, streaking across a large, open grassy field. Sonic slowed down and came to a stop. He set Amy down and she immediately turned around and hugged him tightly.

"You really did come for me," he heard her say. He hugged her back and when she finally pulled away, he held her at arm's length, gazing into her beautiful, emerald eyes.

"You do care about me," she said more quietly.

"I-" he began, but suddenly he was tongue-tied. All the determination from earlier about telling Amy how he felt was swept away. Now he was just a sixteen-year-old boy talking to a pretty girl. And he was nervous. He had to do this now. Their faces drew closer together. Sonic could smell her perfume. Amy closed her eyes. Sonic felt his ears fold back. His heart was thudding. They got closer. Sonic stepped back quickly, letting go of Amy. "I- I- I-" he stuttered.

Amy stared at Sonic, a hurt expression on her face. "No," she said, stepping back as well, "you don't love me." Tears welled up in her eyes. "Because if you did, you wouldn't always treat me like this." She took a few more steps back, then turned and ran, sobbing openly.

Sonic watched her go. He wanted to run after her, tell her she was wrong, that he did love her. But was that the truth? Did he really love her? And if he did, why did he always feel like this? Why did he always feel the need to run away? He sank down onto the grass. Tears overflowed from his eyes, spilling down his cheeks and onto his legs. They left blue splotches wherever they landed, washing away the paint.

No, he decided at last, this couldn't be love. He stood up and started heading for home. He needed to clean all this black paint off of himself.

Sonic stepped through his door and flopped down on the couch. Things just weren't going his way.

"Sonic, ya' there?" asked Tails' voice. Sonic looked around for a moment, trying to figure out where Tails was, then he realized that the voice was coming from his walkie-talkie.

He picked it us and said, "Yeah Tails, I'm here."

"Do you have Amy with you?"

"Um, no. She… left."

"Was she all right?"

"Eh, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean, she has kidnapped by Eggman. I wanted to know if she was all right."

"Oh, of course! Yeah, she's fine."

"Is something the matter Sonic?"

"N-no, of course not. What would make you ask that?"

"You just sounded kinda, nervous."

"Nervous? No. I'm just… tired. Saving someone can really take it outta you, ya' know?"

"Sonic, did something happen between you and Amy?"

"Hey listen, Tails, I gotta go. I'll see you later."

"Soni-" Sonic clicked off the walkie-talkie. He sighed. Things seriously weren't going his way.


	10. Other Options

**10-Other Options**

Amy wept on her bed, face buried in her pillows. Her life war going terribly. After several minutes, she stopped crying and sat up on her bed.

Suddenly, Rouge flapped through her open bedroom window. "Hey Amy, can I borrow-?" She stopped when she saw the tear-streaks on Amy's face. "What's the matter?" She landed and walked over to Amy, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Amy sniffed, trying hard not to start crying again. "It's- it's Sonic."

"Did something happen to him?"

"No, no, that's not it. It's," A tear slid down her cheek. "every time I get near him, he runs away from me. I mean, we'll go on picnics together and hang out all day, but whenever I try to get an understanding of how he feels about me, he always says he's got to go do something or he just flat out runs away."

"Well," said Rouge, "that doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't love you. It could just be-"

Amy interrupted her, saying, "In fact, last night he rescued me from Dr. Eggman. He carried me out into a huge open field. Then he put me down and we just looked at each other. Then we got closer, and I thought that we were about to kiss, but then Sonic jumped back with this scared look on his face. That's when I realized that he didn't love me at all. He never loved me. I just always tricked myself onto thinking that."

Rouge was silent for a moment, then she said, "Well, ya' know Amy, it's not the end of the world. There are plenty of other guys out there. You've gotta look at other options. I'm sure you'll find the one who's right for you."

"You say it like I'm shopping for shoes."

"Kinda," agreed Rouge. "But, seriously, if Sonic doesn't share the same feelings for you, you need to move on. Don't just mope around, longing for Sonic."

Amy gave a small smile. "Thanks, I will."

"Hey," said Rouge, "I know. How 'bout you come over to my house tonight. We can eat and have a… what do you call it? - a sleepover! Maybe it would cheer you up."

"Sure," said Amy, her smile growing slightly. She stood up. "I really appreciate this, Rouge."

Rouge smiled back, getting up from the bed. "So, you can come over at 6:00." She started walking towards the window, then turned around. "Oh, I almost forgot what I came here for. Could I borrow that white flower-thingy that you put in your hair?"

"You mean this?" asked Amy, walking over to her dresser and picking up a white, cloth daisy with a clip on the back.

"That's it!"

"Sure," said Amy, handing it to Rouge. "But, why do you need it? I never really imagined you as the floral type."

Rouge smiled. "Believe me, I'm not. This is just to impress some friends of mine about how much Knuckles cares about and all the different things he'll buy for me."

"But, Knuckles didn't give you that."

"Yes, but they don't know that." The bat leaped out Amy's window and flew away.

Amy watched her go. She decided that she might be looking forward to Rouge's sleepover tonight.

There was a knock at the door. Rouge answered it. "Hey, Amy. Come in, the pizza is almost finished baking."

Amy stepped inside the house, setting down her bag. Then she spotted someone. "Oh," she said in surprise, "Hi, Shadow."

Shadow gave her a silent nod.

"Is Shadow staying here too?" Amy asked Rouge.

"No," laughed Rouge, waving her hand dismissively. "I just brought him over to show me how to make pizza." She leaned closer to Amy. "To tell you the truth, I've never made it before."

Amy gave Shadow a funny look and asked, "You... make pizza?"

"So?" he asked, leaning coolly against a wall.

"Eh, never mind. Hey, Rouge, where should I put my bag?"

"Here," said Rouge, "you can put them in my room. Follow me."

Amy followed her up the stairs and into Rouge's bedroom. When she stepped inside, Amy looked around to see Rouge's walls littered with pictures of Knuckles. There were some of him fighting, some of him standing begrudgingly beside Rouge, even one or two of Rouge kissing him, his cheeks bright red. But most were just of him guarding the Master Emerald, a stern expression on his face. Amy didn't comment.

"Do you want to bed, or the floor?" asked Rouge, holding up Amy's bag.

"I really don't want to impose. Whatever works for you."

"You can have the bed then. Don't ever be too polite to admit that you want the bed." Rouge plopped Amy's bag down on the pink bed.

Amy looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say. Then she noticed the trash can next to her. It was pink wire mesh and in it was a pile of pictures of Shadow. Rouge noticed Amy looking. "Oh, yeah. I'm done with Shadow. Now I'm officially with Knuckles…for now."

"Does Shadow know that?"

"Of course. He never really seemed to be in to me anyway. You can have him if you want."

Amy gave Rouge a wry smile. "You want me to try him on; see how he fits?"

Rouge winked at Amy. "That's the idea. And if it doesn't work, you can just try a different color."

Amy said quietly to herself, "Yeah, Sonic-blue." Then to Rouge, "You see boys… so differently than I do, ya' know?"

"And that's the way I intend to keep it." Rouge walked over to the doorway, taking Amy's hand. "C'mon, that pizza smells good."


	11. Tears

**11-Tears**

Rouge snuck up behind Shadow who was placing the pizza on the table. "Boo!"

Shadow whirled around, brandishing the pizza cutter.

"Uh, yeah," said Rouge, pulling her face away from the pizza cutter's dulled edge. "You can put that away now."

"Oh," said Shadow, lowering the utensil.

Rouge turned to Amy. "C'mon, I'm starving."

They sat down at the table and everyone took a slice. Amy bit into her slice and closed her eyes in pleasure. When she opened her eyes, she gazed at Shadow in amazement, saying, "Shadow, this is the best pizza I've ever tasted! Where did you learn to make this?"

"Shadow looked over at her, his face expressionless. "I don't remember, like so many other events in my life; I just know how to do it."

"Let's talk about something else," suggested Rouge, breaking the long silence that ensued.

"Well," said Amy cheerily, "Rouge, what did your friends say about 'Knuckles' latest gift to you?"

When they had finished eating, they all sat in the living room, chatting with each other. They talked about recent events, Eggman, Shadow told the story of Tails' bizarre scheme to paint him blue, and Sonic black in order to trick Eggman and rescue Amy, and Rouge gossiped about new people she had seen around town. All in all, Amy had a good time, though she felt sad every time Sonic's name was mentioned.

After a long time of talking, Rouge got up and yawned. "10:00. I'm beat. You two can stay up and talk if you want, but I'm going to bed; er, floor actually, considering that Amy's sleeping on the bed." She walked to the top of the stairs, then turned around, saying, "And Shadow, you better be out of my house before midnight or I'll get Amy to go after you with her hammer. I've heard from Sonic that it's not a pleasant experience." She walked down the hallway and into her bedroom, leaving the door open.

Amy just sat there for a little while. She looked over at Shadow and giggled.

"What?" he asked, his red eyes glancing at her.

"It's just, I never really imagined you as the pizza-making type."

"What do you mean?"

"To see you standing there, slicing up the pizza for us to eat… I just never really expected to see you doing something so, I dunno… ordinary."

"At least I didn't serve it."

Amy laughed. "Wouldn't that just be it? Shadow, personal cook, will accept Chaos Emeralds by means of pay."

Shadow gave a small chuckle. Amy was surprised; she had never really heard Shadow laugh before, except for evil laughter, which Amy didn't necessarily count. "Ya' know, I wouldn't really go after you with my hammer."

"Huh," grunted Shadow, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Amy was quiet. She had something that she wanted to ask Shadow and she was glad that Rouge wouldn't be there to hear it.

"Um, Shadow," began Amy, looking at her hands. "Did- when you were rescuing me, did Sonic ever- did Sonic seem really worried about me?"

"Yeah, but he said he would be worried about all his friends; he said that's what friends do."

"But, did he ever say, or imply, that he liked me? I mean like, really liked me?" Amy looked up from her gloves.

"No," said Shadow, looking over at Amy. "In fact, when I called you his 'girlfriend' he started acting all funny. I even asked him if he did like you, and he said that he didn't."

That was it; Sonic really didn't like her. She hadn't wanted to give up on him yet, but Shadow saying it just now, so bluntly, made everything crystal-clear to Amy. A tear slid down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" asked Shadow. He stood up and walked over to her when she didn't respond. He stood over her, confused. "Is something wrong?" Amy buried her face in her hands, her body shaking with silent sobs. Shadow knelt down in front of her. "Amy? What's the matter?"

"I-it's- it's S-sonic," she hiccupped. "H-he doesn't l-love me."

Shadow was confused about why Amy would be crying about such a trivial thing. He certainly hadn't acted like this when Rouge had informed him that she wasn't interested in him anymore. Then again, she was a girl, and with girls, you never knew what to expect. Shadow reached out his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then laid it on Amy's back, feeling awkward. Amy leaned into him, still crying and Shadow brought his other arm around her, wrapping her in a hug. He had never hugged anybody before; anybody that he could remember. He kinda liked it.

"Um, I'm sure everything'll work out all right."

Amy didn't say anything so Shadow just held her until her sobs subsided.

"Amy?" asked Shadow at last.

Amy didn't respond. Shadow looked down at her face to see that her eyes were closed and she was breathing peacefully. She was asleep. Shadow stood up with Amy still in his arms and, not knowing anything else to do, carried her up the stairs and into Rouge's bedroom. He walked over to the bed; here came the tricky part.

How was he going to get Amy into the bed? He tried to hold her with one hand and pull down the covers with the other, but when he let go she started slipping. He considered putting her down on the floor first, but he didn't want to wake her up. He tried to use his foot to pull the covers down, and almost fell over backwards. He even tried to grab the blankets between his teeth, but he couldn't get a good hold and it was a very awkward position.

At last, he figured out that, by putting one of his feet on the bed, he could balance Amy between his arm and his knee, and with the other hand he could pull back the covers; success! He set her in the bed and tucked the blanket around her shoulders.

He stepped back, realizing what he was doing. Why was he being to gentle with her? Tucking her into bed? He walked to the door and looked back at the sleeping figure; she looked so peaceful there, eyes closed, breathing slowly. She looked… pretty, Shadow realized. He smiled to himself as he left; Sonic must not know what he was missing.


	12. Shadow?

**12-Shadow?**

Amy opened her eyes. Where was she? She looked around; white walls, black furniture, the blanket she was underneath was pink. Then she rolled over and saw Rouge sleeping in the floor. That was it; she and Rouge had had a sleepover. But she didn't remember going to bed. Then she remembered her conversation with Shadow. She realized, with some shock, that she had fallen asleep, crying in Shadow's arms.

She guessed it was he who had put her to bed. She sat up and looked at the pink and black clock beside the bed; 5:49. Amy pulled the covers away and stood up. She saw, to her dismay, that she had slept in her clothes and now her dress was all rumpled. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door.

Then she heard Rouge moving behind her. "Where ya' going?" asked Rouge, yawning.

"I'm going to go change. I," she waved a hand at her dress, "fell asleep in my clothes."

"Oh," said Rouge, nodding. She flopped her head onto her pillow and closed her eyes. "Wake me up at a decent hour."

"Okay," Amy said, then left the room. She walked down the hallway and into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and changed from her rumpled dress to a red tank top and blue jeans.

When she was done, Amy walked downstairs and sat on the couch, thinking. Sonic didn't love her. Rouge had said that she needed to find someone else. But who else was there?

She felt like she needed someone to be with, to have fun with. To hide behind from the misery of leaving Sonic. Rouge had moved on; she had left Shadow for Knuckles. She didn't feel any attachment to Shadow, no sadness at leaving him. She had even said that Amy could have him.

Amy blinked; was that really possible? Amy and Shadow? She remembered the previous night, how gentle Shadow had been with her. She knew it was probably just her imagination... but then again, what could it hurt?

A broken heart, she told herself. But it couldn't be any worse than what she was feeling right now, could it? Amy decided to try and see if there were any feelings between the two of them. And if there weren't, she would move on to someone else. Like Rouge had said: shopping for shoes; she would find the best fit. She would talk to Shadow about it the next time she saw him. Amy got up from the couch. Her stomach growled and she looked over at the clock to see that it was 6:23; she had been contemplating her problems for over half-an-hour. Rouge was still asleep, so without anything else to do, Amy walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. She was just finishing making the eggs when Rouge walked down the stairs.

She smelled the eggs and smiled. "Hey, I'm the host; I thought I was supposed to make the breakfast."

"Well," said Amy, smiling and placing a piece of toast on her plate, "I didn't have anything else to do." She held out a plate to Rouge. "You want some?"

"Do I ever!" Rouge slid the rest of the eggs onto her plate and grabbed a piece of toast.

The two sat down and ate in silence. When they were done, Rouge got up and said, "You don't mind if I go out for a bit, do you? I've got somewhere I need to be."

"No, you can go. I'll be fine."

"Thanks," said Rouge, walking away from the table. "And thanks for making breakfast; it was delicious." Rouge smiled and walked out the door, taking off into the air as she reached the edge of her yard.

Amy finished her breakfast and put everything away. Then she went outside and sat on Rouge's front step. What was there to do now?

After several minutes, Tails walked by. "Hey Tails!" Amy called out.

Tails stopped walking and waved to her. "Hey Amy! How's everything going?"

"Fine," she lied, walking out to him.

"I haven't seen you since before Eggman captured you." He started walking again.

Amy walked alongside him. "Yeah, I've been kinda, ya' know, busy."

"I haven't really seen much of Sonic lately either. I wanted to ask him something, but I couldn't find him all yesterday; I'm looking for him now. Do you know where he is?"

"Of course not!" said Amy a little too loudly. "Why would I know where Sonic is? I mean, it's not like I keep track of him twenty-four hours a day. How could you possibly expect me to know?"

Tails looked at Amy kinda strange. "Um, Amy? What happened?"

"I don't know what you mean, Tails."

"What happened after Sonic rescued you? I tried to ask Sonic, but he wouldn't tell me."

Amy glared at Tails. "I thought you said you hadn't seen him."

"I didn't, I mean, I haven't. I spoke to him over the walkie-talkies we were using. But he turned his off. I haven't seen him since. Well, maybe I saw him running a few times, but I haven't had the chance to talk to him. Did something happen?"

"No," answered Amy truthfully, looking Tails in the eye. "Nothing, happened."

"Then why-?"

"There's Shadow," said Amy, noticing the dark hedgehog and pointing. "Hey, I gotta go. I was gonna talk to Shadow about something. Bye!"

Amy ran over to Shadow. "Hi, Shadow."

"Hi," he said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"So, I was wondering, if you and I could, hang out?"

Shadow looked at her again, his face impassive. "Hang out where?"

"Oh, you know, just hang out, in general."

"I don't think so. I don't need a sidekick."

"No, no, not like that. I mean like, get to know each other, go places, eat lunch

together; that kind of stuff."

"No thank you."

"Please?" Amy asked, imploring. "I'm- I'm not really over Sonic yet."

Shadow looked at her pleading face. There was something about her… "Fine."

"Really?" asked Amy, clasping her hands together. "You'll do it?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Thank you!" Amy hugged him tightly.

Shadow was taken by surprise. But then he reached around and patted Amy on the back a couple times. "Uh, sure, whatever." He stood there. "You can let go now."

"Oh, right," said Amy, stepping back hastily. "Sorry."

"So… um, what now?"

"Let's go to the park," she said, tugging him along. "We can have ice cream, and eat chili- I mean, hot dogs, and we can sit by the fountain together. It'll be fun."

And Amy pulled him all the way to the park.


	13. Ice Cream & Emeralds

**13-Ice Cream & Emeralds**

When they got to the park, they sat on a bench, eating ice cream; Amy's strawberry, Shadow's vanilla. While Amy licked hers, Shadow bit mouthfuls out of his.

"Doesn't that hurt your teeth?" Amy asked, looking at Shadow, curiously.

"A little I guess, but not seriously so," said Shadow, taking another bite.

"Then why do you eat it that way?"

"What way?"

"With your teeth, you just agreed that it hurt."

Shadow examined his cone. "Why should it matter how I eat it? The goal to consume it, is it not?"

"No, not really, you're supposed to enjoy it."

"Well, then how _should_ I eat it?"

"Like this," said Amy. She demonstrated by licking her own ice cream.

Shadow tried it. "But it's so much slower that way."

Amy laughed. "That's the point! You want it to last for a long time; to enjoy it."

"It is strange that we would even be discussing ice cream-eating methods when everyone else is still probably having breakfast."

"Yeah, I know. But I couldn't resist. It's what people usually do together at the park, when they're hanging out."

"Interesting; the customs some have."

"Yeah," said Amy. They sat on the bench together, neither knowing what to say next. Amy felt a little uncomfortable sitting right next to Shadow. She was usually sitting next to Sonic…

When Shadow finished his cone he stood up, looking around. "I should probably get something more substantial to eat; that ice cream was the only thing I've eaten all morning."

Amy got up too. "I had eggs at Rouge's… Oh man!"

"What?"

"I left my stuff at Rouge's. I never took it home after our sleepover last night. I really should go and get them. You don't mind, do you? Maybe we can do this another time?"

"Fine with me," said Shadow, sitting down again.

"So," said Amy, thinking quickly, "how 'bout tomorrow, on the beach? Noon?"

"Whatever works," said Shadow propping his hands behind his head and closing his eyes."

"Thanks Shadow. See you tomorrow!" She ran off.

Shadow heard a noise behind him and turned around to see what it was. He thought that he might have seen something blue for a split-second, or was it just his imagination?

A little while later, he got up off the bench to find something to eat. And he wondered to himself how Amy Rose was interpreting his attention towards her.

"Knuckles?" Tails called. "You there?"

"What do you want?"

Tails followed Knuckles voice and found the echidna cleaning off the Chaos Emeralds by a stream. "What are you doing? Did the Emeralds get dirty or something?"

"You never know what Rouge might have done with them," said Knuckles, setting another gem on the grass to dry in the sun."

"Why did Rouge have them?"

Knuckles' expression soured. "Uh, well, ya' see…"

"Yes?"

"Well she wanted to show them to her friends. Something about proving affections."

"And you let her, because…?"

"Well," said Knuckles, looking slightly embarrassed. "She- I dunno why. I just couldn't say no. You know how she acts; when she doesn't get her way, she mopes around, looking so sad."

"Knuckles, I thought we gave the Emeralds to you so you could protect them, not let Rouge prance around with them."

"I know, but, when she looks at you with that smile, you just want to make her happy. Ya' know?"

"Uh, not really," said Tails taking a step back.

"Help me carry these," said Knuckles, finishing the last gem and handing three of them to Tails. He picked up the other four and they began walking. "So, did you come here for any particular reason, or did you just want to watch me wash the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Oh, right. I was wondering if you've seen Sonic?"


	14. Helping A Friend

**14-Helping A Friend**

They arrived at the Master Emerald and Knuckles began placing each gem on its pedestal surrounding the Master Emerald. "Not since a few days ago. He needed some advice. That reminds me! I got something for you. Just a sec." Knuckles finished with the colorful gems and walked around behind the Master Emerald.

"I haven't seen him since we had to rescue Amy from Dr. Eggman and I think he might be upset about something that happened and- what are those?"

Knuckles walked out carrying four books. "They're books. Sonic told me about your little problem, so I thought about it and decided to get you these." He handed the books to Tails.

Tails took them and read the covers: "The Young Fox's Guide to True Love", "Dating for Inventors", "Romance for the Beginner; Boys' Edition", and "Creating a Long-lasting Relationship with a Different Species".

"Gee, Knuckles," Tails squeaked, his face pink. He tried to sound flattered, "you shouldn't have."

"Don't worry," Knuckles said, waving a gloved hand dismissively, "I didn't; they're from the library. So make sure you return them."

"Yeah, I'll go home and read them right now." Tails smiled falsely.

"Okay," said Knuckles, waving as Tails flew off. This was the last time, Tails told himself, that he would ever get involved in one of Amy's crazy schemes again.

Sonic angrily slammed his fist into the ground. He had messed everything up. And now it looked like Amy and Shadow might be going out together. But he didn't love her, so why did he care? Why did he have to be so anxious around Amy? He didn't used to be. She would chase him around everywhere and it didn't really bother him. But, then again, they hadn't been this close before. Now simply seeing Amy smile made Sonic want to smile too, whatever the reason. It didn't matter; he had no feelings for her. But seeing her with Shadow…

Tails, that's who Sonic needed to see. He had given good enough advice last time. He ran to Tails' workshop and walked through the door.

"Tails, ya' here?"

Tails, who was sitting at his desk reading, quickly whirled around to face Sonic. "Waah!" he yelled, trying to hide the title of the book he was reading.

"Uh, what are those?" Sonic asked, motioning to the four books.

"N-nothing!" stuttered Tails, flipping the other three books facedown on the table and turning them so that their spines were hidden from Sonic's view.

"Okay…" Sonic decided not to question him and to let his friend have his privacy.

Tails got up from his bench and walked over to Sonic. "Sonic, where have you been? I was starting to get worried."

"Nah, you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"All the same, I was still worried. What happened?"

"Whadda ya' mean?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I mean; something happened between you and Amy after you rescued her. I tried to find out from her, but she just said that nothing happened."

Sonic cringed. "'Nothing' is right."

Tails sat down again. Sonic paced in front of him, then he stopped. "Well, I rescued her. I ran off into a big field and put her down. Then she hugged me and said that I really did care about her. Then she just looked at me with those beautiful eyes and I just looked back at her."

"And?" coaxed Tails.

Sonic shifted uncomfortably. "And then I almost kissed her."

"What stopped you?"

Sonic turned away from Tails. "I dunno." He turned back. "I just chickened-out. Then Amy got all upset and ran away. I've been out on my own, trying to figure things out. I concluded that I didn't love Amy. But earlier today, I saw her and Shadow hanging out at the park together, eating ice cream. I don't know why, but I wanted so badly for it to be me having ice cream with her, not Shadow. I just got so jealous of him. I want him to leave her alone! But I shouldn't care about any of this!" Sonic grabbed the sides of his head. "Uurgh!"

"Calm down, Sonic. I think I know what's wrong. Now, why do you suddenly say that you don't love Amy; just the other day, you said that you did."

"Well, I thought I did. But I don't think that when you're in love with someone, you're supposed to be so… nervous around them. But if I don't love her, why does it make me so angry seeing her with Shadow?"

"Well, I think that you do love her, but you're just too shy about it."

"Shy? I'm not shy!" Sonic thought about how he acted around Amy. "Well, maybe a little." He looked at Tails, looking back at him. "Fine! I'm shy! Happy?"

"And how did you say you felt when you saw Amy with Shadow?"

"Angry. Jealous."

"So you're jealous of him."

"No… yes."

"You're jealous of him being around her. You're jealous of him being with her; because you want to be with her."

Sonic looked at Tails curiously. "Where do you get all this?"

"Well, ya' see, I have these books on dating and stuff…" He held up "Romance for the Beginner; Boys' Edition".

Sonic stared at him, surprised and slightly confused. He blinked. Then he blinked again. "You have books on dating?"

"No! I mean, I got them from Knuckles!" Tails said, flustered.

Sonic was even more confused. "Knuckles has books on dating?"

"No! They're from the library! But there was a bit of confusion and Knuckles thought I needed them. I didn't, of course, but I started reading them anyway and there's a lot of interesting stuff in them..."

"Oh. Like what?"

"Well, what I just told you for starters. There's some pretty useful information in here, including what I think you're going through." He opened the book to a bookmarked page. "Here, look. See?"

Sonic walked over to see a chapter titled: Denial and Running Away.

What the heck?


	15. Dating

**15-Dating**

Tails began to read aloud while following along the page with his finger, "'First love can be tricky, as you do not know how to deal with your emotions. Feeling anxious is perfectly normal. A common occurrence in first-time lovers is that one of the two people (boy or girl) will deny his/her feelings or simply run away from them. This is understandable; it is a new feeling and a confusing one. Nevertheless, denial and running away are not the answers. This can only lead to more problems. If it is you who is in denial or running away, it is often best to discuss this with someone you trust. They will usually be able to see the problem in a different light and give advice accordingly. But if you are truly not ready for a relationship, you should tell the girl and try to help her understand how you feel. (Note: different species may handle these situations slightly differently, according to what is deemed acceptable behavior by your specific race) On the other hand, if it is the girl who is in denial or is running away, you…' And them it goes on to talk about the girl running away and stuff. But see? I think this is what you need." Tails tapped the page with his finger for emphasis.

"Tails, you don't mind if I borrow this, do you?" Sonic asked, laying his hand on the book.

"Not at all. You can take it if you want. Just be sure to return it to the library when you're done."

"Gotcha. See you later, Buddy." Sonic waved and ran out of the workshop, holding the book.

Tails waved back and turned to his desk again. He picked up "The Young Fox's Guide to True Love". He had a lot of reading to do…

Rouge flew through the night, past all the trees and houses. Past Sonic's house. Wait, why was his bedroom light still on? The sun would be up soon. What was he doing up so late?

Rouge flew over to his window. She peeked inside. Sonic was asleep on his bed, mouth slightly open. Rouge landed and walked over to him, intending on turning out the lamp for him. Then she noticed something. Loosely held in one of his hands was a book. Curious, Rouge slipped it from the hedgehog's fingers and flipped through the pages. She turned to the Table of Contents and skimmed through the chapter titles. She arched an eyebrow.

~Table of Contents~

Acknowledgements

Words from the authors

Boys and Girls

The Meaning of Love

Love or Infatuation?

Secret Admirer

Different Kinds of Girls

Finding the Perfect Girl

Charm and Gifts

Asking Her Out

First Date

The Do's and Don't's

What is She Trying to Tell You?

Ready or Not; Nervous?

Denial and Running Away

Competition; Saying "I love you"

If the Feelings aren't Shared

The Kiss

The Breakup

Moving On

Marriage and Other Tricky Things

Helpful Hints

Things You Should Know

About the authors

Appendix

Rouge glanced at the sleeping Sonic, then back at the book. She looked at the title: Romance for the Beginner; Boys' Edition. Never something she really expected to catch Sonic reading. She closed the book, placed it on the bedside table, and turned off the lamp. She looked at Sonic thoughtfully through the darkness. Maybe Amy had been wrong about Sonic; maybe he did like her.

Maybe he just didn't know how to tell her. Rouge wondered if she should tell Amy, but she decided against it; she would leave that up to Sonic. But she guessed she could at least tell Tails. She walked to the window and flew out. She smiled to herself. Sonic reading a dating book; who knew?

Shadow sat on the beach next to Amy. He felt a little guilty about what he was doing, but he deserved a break every once in a while, didn't he? Time to just sit back and relax. Time to hang out with friends.

It wasn't his fault if the only person who wanted to spend time with him was Amy, was it? He didn't care. He worked so hard all the time. And if Amy interpreted his actions the wrong way; that was her problem, not his.

He looked down at her. She was lying on her towel in her pink and blue swimsuit, arms folded behind her head, eyes closed, and smiling slightly in the warm sunlight. She was pretty. He had heard Sonic admit that a few times to him before, but now he really saw it for himself.

And not just on the outside; Amy had a wonderful, cheerful personality. She was all smiles and generally liked to think the best about people. Shadow had a hard time fathoming why Sonic didn't just fall in love with her.

Amy opened one eye to see Shadow smiling down at her. She smiled back. "Shadow? Are you having a good time?"

"Yes," he said nodding.

"Do you like it here?"

He nodded again.

Amy propped herself up on one elbow and looked out at the ocean. Then, "Do you like me?"

Shadow thought about it. "I guess so."

Amy forced a half-smile. That wasn't exactly the response she had been hoping for. She settled back down onto her towel and stared at Shadow, who was looking out at the horizon of water. It was disheartening; first Sonic, now Shadow. Neither one had shown much interest in Amy. Was it just her? Did boys naturally not like her in the same way she liked them? No, she told herself, this was only the second day seeing Shadow; she needed to give him more time.

Amy stood up. "You wanna come swim with me?" she asked.

Shadow shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

They went out into the water and swam for several minutes. Amy would splash Shadow with water and he would playfully splash her back, though, he mostly kept to himself; floating on his back or diving underwater and not coming up for several minutes. Amy would sometimes get concerned when he did this, but if she ducked under, she would see Shadow, easily holding his breath, a contemplation expression on his face.

He would see her staring at him and return to the surface. Whereupon Amy would splash him, laughing and try to run away through the water as he tried to catch her and splash her back.

When they were done, the two returned to the beach to dry off. Amy wrapped her towel around herself while shadow trued to shake the water out of his ear. Amy smiled at him, cute as ever. Again, Shadow felt guilty; he knew the truth; that this wouldn't last. But he did enjoy spending time with Amy.

"Amy, I should probably get going." he said.

"Are you sure? We're having so much fun."

"I'm sure. I have things to do."

"Well, okay. See you later."

Shadow walked off leaving Amy alone to walk home by herself. So she did.


	16. The Truth

**16-The Truth**

Sonic crouched in the tall grasses. He watched Shadow and Amy sit on the beach together. He watched them play in the water; something he had never done with Amy. Then he watched Shadow leave, not bothering to walk Amy home. To Sonic, that seemed wrong; Shadow should have walked her home, but he didn't. After that, Amy began walking in Sonic's direction.

He stared at her, his heart beating faster as she got closer and closer. She was so beautiful; inside and outside. Amy walked past Sonic's hiding place, and he gazed at her as she strolled down the beach, away from him. Then he realized that he had just missed her.

Now or never, he told himself. He stood up and walked after her. "Amy," he said, taking hold of her wrist.

She spun around and looked at him, her hair mimicking the movement a quarter second later, swishing around her face. "Sonic?"

Sonic quickly let go of her wrist. She pulled it to her chest and held it in her other hand, rubbing it with two fingers. It didn't hurt, but him grabbing her wrist like that with no warning, she was puzzled. She looked at him questioningly.

"Amy…" Sonic trailed off. Just get it over with, he told himself. So he did. "Amy I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting. I've been rude, and I've lied about it. I didn't tell you how I really feel, and I'm sorry. But I'd like to do it now…" He said it all in the matter of a few seconds. Now he had to say it. "Amy…"

Amy reached up and pulled out her headphones. She looked apologetically at Sonic. "Could you say that again?"

Sonic face-palmed himself, closing his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

He sighed. "Nothing, it's nothing." He turned away. "I've got, uh… stuff to do."

"Sonic?" Amy asked. "Does this… have anything to do with, uh, 'us'?"

Sonic turned back. How did she know?

"I'm not upset about it," Amy lied.

Sonic felt disheartened. That was it; she didn't miss him, she wasn't even upset about it anymore.

Amy looked down. "Well, that is, I understand. I still love you," she looked up at him, "but I know when to let go…"

Sonic looked at her, a little surprised. She really had grown up; the Amy he knew a year ago wouldn't have handled this kind of situation so maturely.

Amy started walking and Sonic felt inclined to follow. Amy heard him behind her. She took a breath. "Sonic?"

"Yeah?" came the answer.

"When you rescued me," she knelt down and picked up a long stick, dragging it along in the sand betide her as she walked, "why did you just run away like that?"

"Uh… it's a, eh, a guy thing," he responded, hoping Amy would buy it.

"Uh-huh… A guy thing?"

Sonic nodded, then realizing she couldn't hear him say, "Yeah, that's it."

"And a girl thing," Amy observed.

"Huh?"

Amy looked at the groove carved in the sand by her stick. "It's a guy thing, and it's a girl thing. You mean to say it's a guy and girl thing. Together, right?" She continued walking in front of him.

Sonic blinked twice. When had everyone else on Mobius gotten so smart? "Uh…" was his only response.

Amy continued walking, heading out to the water.

Sonic sighed, giving in. "Yeah."

"So why did you run away?"

"I thought you just answered that."

Amy walked towards a dock extending out over the water. She didn't respond.

Sonic rolled his eyes. First Tails, now Amy; who else had surpassed him in intellectual conversations? He had never been too good at them himself, but the others had never been this good. He bit his lip, then decided he might as well say it. "I was nervous."

Amy walked out onto the dock, then turned around and looked at him, asking, "Nervous? Then it wasn't because you didn't love me?"

"Of course not." Sonic had stopped at the beginning of the dock, uncomfortable with the idea of walking out over the water.

Amy sat down along the edge of the planks of wood and looked over at him.

Sonic hesitated for a moment, then strode out onto the dock, walking over next to Amy. She still looked up at him. Sonic sat down beside her.

"Then why?" asked Amy.

"Well," said Sonic, leaning back on his hands and dangling his feet over the edge of the dock. "That's kinda hard to explain… Haven't you ever been, well, uncomfortable with doing what you really like? Because you like it? Embarrassed, maybe?"

"So you do like me?"

Sonic gave a half smile and nodded. "Yeah."

"You're embarrassed about liking me?"

Sonic gave another nod, staring out at the ocean. Then he noticed the hurt look on Amy's face and realized that that was the wrong thing to say. "No, no! It's not that! I mean…" he trailed off. Amy was silent. "It's all just a little… new, to me. And I've always been, ya' know, me. I've never really been the love-y type. And now…"

"I think I understand," admitted Amy. "But never treat me like that again."

"I won't," promised Sonic.

Amy leaned her head against Sonic's shoulder. Sonic was a little surprised at first and stiffened a little, but then he relaxed. He tentatively reached his arm around and wrapped it around Amy, resting his hand on her waist. Amy sighed and smiled. Sonic smiled too. They sat there for several moments before Amy finally asked, "Sonic?"

"Yeah Ames?"

"Do you love me?"

Sonic looked down at her, then back out at the blue horizon. The truth. "Yes. I do." He rested his head against hers. "I, Sonic the Hedgehog, love you, Amy Rose."


	17. Together

**17-Together**

Amy slipped the baby-blue dress over her head. Next, she placed a matching headband in her hair. Then she slid her feet into a pair of white sandals with little forget-me-nots decorating the sides. She peered at herself in the mirror; not bad. She twirled around, watching her summery dress flair out around her. Amy pursed her lips and replaced her blue headband with a white one. She smiled; that was better.

Lastly, she clipped a blue, fabric forget-me-not flower to her headband. Perfect. She was all ready for her date with Sonic; her first-ever official date with Sonic. Amy sighed to herself; she had dreamed of this day for years, and now it was finally here. She walked over to her front door, but then stopped, noticing something by her feet. She knelt down and picked it up. It was a note.

It read: Amy, I need to see you. Meet me at the park at 3:00 today. I will be waiting by the fountain. Sincerely, Shadow the Hedgehog.

Amy examined the note, pondering why Shadow might need to see her. Was it just to have another date? Amy felt guilty; Shadow wanted to go on another date with her, and she was going to have to break-up with him. She sighed; she would have to tell him the truth. But first, she was going to go on her date with Sonic.

"Hey Sonic!" Amy yelled, trudging up the hill.

Sonic spun around then, seeing that it was Amy, yelled back, "Oh, hey Amy! I know the perfect spot!"

Amy reached the top of the hill and heaved a sigh. "But, I thought we were having the picnic here."

"Nah," said Sonic, shaking his head and motioning around the empty hilltop. "No trees; we're goanna get hot in the sun. I read that in the 'Helpful Hints' section of a book on dating."

Amy gave him a teasing frown. "And here I thought you did this all on your own. But my Sonic can't do anything romantic without the assistance of dating books. And I thought you were so clever and brave." A smile cracked through Amy's phony frown and she laughed.

Sonic grinned and said defensively, "Hey, ya' know the nerve it took for me to ask Tails if I could borrow that book from him?"

Amy gave Sonic a confused look. "I didn't know Tails has books on dating."

"Nah," said Sonic, "apparently, Knuckles lent them to him."

Amy's expression was of pure bafflement. She squinted at Sonic and arched one eyebrow, trying to gauge if this was some kind of joke. "Our Knuckles?" Sonic nodded. "Knuckles the Echidna?" Sonic nodded again. Amy blinked hard, trying to fathom this seemingly impossible new information she was being told. Finally, she asked, "Since when does Knuckles read books on dating?"

Sonic shrugged. "I was wondering the same thing. So, ya' ready to go?"

"Sure, I guess. But how far away is this 'perfect spot'?"

"Not that far." Sonic pointed to a hill in the distance with a lone oak standing on the top. "Right over there."

Amy placed a hand on her hip. "Not far for you, maybe. But for the rest of us, that's a long way away."

"Well, would you rather I carry you?"

Amy considered this option, then nodded. "Sure."

"All right then, hold this." Sonic handed her a picnic basket. "But don't look inside."

"Sonic, I don't have to look to know what's inside." She took the basket. "I can smell all the chilidogs that you packed."

"All the same," said Sonic, lifting Amy into his arms, "I'd prefer it if you didn't." He started running.

When Sonic reached his destination, he set Amy down in the grass. "Thanks," Amy said. She set the picnic basket down, then turned around and gave Sonic a kiss on the cheek.

Sonic automatically blushed. Then he remembered something he had read. He looked at Amy's outfit. "You uh, you sure look pretty."

"Really?" she asked, looking sweetly at Sonic.

"Really," said Sonic, smiling at her. He didn't know what to say next, so he picked up the picnic basket and began unpacking it, handing the blanket to Amy for her to spread out.. "Well, heh-heh," said Sonic, looking at the contents of the basket. "I, well I wasn't really sure what you would like to eat, so…" he trailed off.

"So?" probed Amy.

"Well… let's see." He took a breath. "I have salads, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, more sandwiches, oranges, bananas, carrots, grapes, hard-boiled eggs, chips, a pie, cupcakes, milkshakes, granola bars, apples, cookies, some chocolate bars, corn, and well… chilidogs."

Amy didn't know what to say for a moment. At last she asked, "Well, um… what kinds of sandwiches?"

Sonic fingered his way through the stack of sandwiches. "Peanut butter and jelly, just plain peanut butter, tomato and lettuce, ham and cheese, cream cheese and jelly, peanut butter and that marshmellowie-stuff, tuna, chicken, and grilled cheese. Oh, and toast."

Amy blinked; that was a lot to choose from. "Um, I guess I'll have… chicken."

Sonic handed Amy a slightly-squished chicken sandwich. "Uh, sorry if it's a little flat; I had a hard time fitting everything into the basket."

"No, it's fine," said Amy, taking the sandwich offered to her by Sonic. "You've never really packed for a picnic before, have you?"

"No," answered Sonic, giving Amy a crooked smile, "whenever we went on picnics, you always packed the food."

"Yeah…" said Amy, not being able to think of anything else to say.

The two sat on the hillside, eating in silence and enjoying just being together. Sonic glanced at Amy. She was watching two birds chase each other around the upper branches of the tree above them. Amy stood up to see the two birds better It was a blue-colored bird chasing a reddish bird.

Sonic glanced at the picnic basket, then at Amy. He reached inside and pulled out a small object. He got up and stood next to Amy. He bit his lower lip; now, how was he supposed to do this? Sonic tried to recall information from when he had read the chapter on "Charm and Gifts", but his mind was a blank. Not being able to think of any other way at the moment, he simply thrust the object under Amy's nose, hoping that he didn't look as ridiculous as he felt.


	18. A Gift

**18-A Gift**

Amy looked down to see a small, red box, not-so-neatly tied with pink ribbon. She looked to Sonic, who was holding out the gift for her to take, but he was looking away from her, up at the sky, having suddenly found great interest in the shapes and textures of clouds.

Amy took the small box from Sonic's outstretched hand and began unwrapping it. Sonic lowered his arm and peeked over at Amy. He lifted his foot to take a step, but then was unsure as to whether he should take a step away from Amy, or towards her. He put the put back down on the ground where it had been.

Amy finished unwrapping the gift and opened the lid of the box inside. She stared at the two lovely lily-shaped earrings. "Oh, Sonic. They're beautiful! Thank you!"

"Well, Tails helped me pick them out."

"Then tell him I said thank you, too." Amy reached around and gave Sonic a hug.

Sonic remembered a few things from the chapters, "The Do's and Don't's" and "What is She Trying to Tell You?", and hugged Amy back. He whispered in her ear, "But they're not as beautiful as you are, Amy Rose."

"Sonic, that's so… you're so…" She stopped and looked at him. Then she stood on her toes and kissed him. Sonic kissed her back. She let go and looked at him adoringly. "I'll put them on the minute I get home." She was interrupted as the two birds flew between their faces, chirping loudly. They both took a step back in surprise. Amy turned her head to watch them again.

They reminded her of how she would always chase Sonic around, except, if these birds were her and Sonic, it appeared that it was Sonic chasing her. Amy wondered how that would have been; Sonic chasing her around all the time. She imagined she would have loved it, but then again, in that case, she would probably be running from Sonic. Amy frowned; she couldn't imagine liking that. It would get very annoying. She looked at Sonic, who had his arm around her waist. "Sonic?"

"Yeah, Ames?"

"Was I ever really annoying when I chased you around?"

"Um… well, sometimes, I guess. But not too bad."

"Did you want me to stop?"

"Well, maybe when you did it a lot, but I kinda, ya' know, enjoyed having you always there most of the time. It was… nice."

Amy elbowed Sonic. "I wish you had told me. I had just about given-up on you. No, scratch that; I had given up on you. I was going out with Shadow."

Sonic's expression soured. "Yeah, Shadow. I wouldn't be surprised if he was going out with you just to make me jealous."

"Sonic, he's not that bad. He can actually be sweet… on the rare occasion. Did it work?"

"Did what work?"

"Did Shadow going out with me make you jealous?"

"Maybe…"

"Don't worry, I like blue shoes better."

"How did we get on the subject on shoes?"

"Inside girl joke." Amy looked down at her watch. 2:24. "Speaking of Shadow-"

"I thought you said shoes."

"Did they not mention to not interrupt a girl while she's talking in that dating book of yours?"

"No, they did."

"Then remember it. As I was saying, I'm supposed to meet Shadow at the park. You don't mind if we end our date here, do you?"

"You don't mean you and Shadow are still…?"

"I'm breaking-up with him. I don't think it was real to begin with. So, see you later?"

"Sure."

"Okay, bye!" Amy ran down the hill in the direction of town, leaving Sonic to clean up the picnic mess.

And he wondered to himself as he cleaned; what was he going to do with all this extra food?

Shadow waited at the park. He watched children play and couples sitting on benches together. Just the other day, he and Amy had been here together, eating ice cream. He sighed to himself.

"Shadow!" Shadow turned to see Amy jogging towards him. She came to a stop in front of him. "I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"

Shadow looked her up and down. Her attire made him feel even worse. She was wearing a cute blue dress, blue and white sandals, a matching headband, and lily shaped earrings. Amy really thought that this was real. Shadow stiffened and turned away from her. "Amy, I can't do this anymore." He said flatly.

"Do what?" asked Amy, walking around to face Shadow once again.

Shadow glanced at Amy, then raised his chin. "This whole 'relationship' as you call it, between you and me. It won't last."

"Shadow-"

"No Amy," said Shadow, raising a hand to silence her, "let me finish." He lost his stern demeanor and looked at the pink hedgehog; the pink hedgehog who was not for him. "Amy," he said in a considerably softer tone, "I don't love you. I apologize if I gave you the impression that I did." Amy opened her mouth to speak again, but Shadow continued. "While I enjoy your company, I have no real feelings for you. Again, I apologize if I gave you that impression; that was not my intent. So, while there can be no romantic connections between the two of us, I hope to still remain your… friend."

The word felt unfamiliar in Shadow's mouth. He looked at Amy for a few seconds, feeling relieved for having told Amy the truth, and guilty about it at the same time. Now he was gonna get it; the tears, the sobbing, the begging for him not to leave. He had seen breakups often enough.

He would probably have to comfort her, telling her that it was all right. She might be upset with him for a long time. Or she might become angry, even swinging her hammer at him. Shadow didn't know which prospect he dreaded more; having to comfort a bawling Amy in front of everyone in the surrounding area, or being chased around the park by an angry female hedgehog, wielding a piko piko hammer.

But to Shadow's surprise, Amy reacted neither way. Instead, she gave him a small, sweet smile and said, "I know, Shadow. I guess, we just weren't meant to be."

Shadow was taken aback, but he regained himself and said, "You are handling this situation with surprising maturity for a thirteen-year old girl. I must say, I am impressed."

"Well, I never really saw it as being real to begin with. I just needed someone to comfort me after leaving Sonic."

"And now?"

"I think everything will work out just fine. I know exactly who's right for me. And who knows? Maybe you'll find someone too."

"I doubt it," stated the dark hedgehog, turning away to leave, "I do not believe I was designed to have a relationship of that sort."

"I think you're wrong," said Amy. "And someday, you'll find the perfect girl for you."

"Hmmph," was Shadow's only response.

The two parted, each going their separate ways. Amy, extremely relieved that Shadow had done the breaking-up for her, and Shadow, having several things on his mind to ponder.


	19. Mission

**19-Mission**

"Rouge!" called Tails to the bat. He flew up to her, using his twin tails to propel himself through the air. "Rouge! Have you seen Sonic, Amy, or Shadow? I can't find any of them!"

"No, not today. Why do you need them?"

"I think Eggman's planning something!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Uh, the army of robots positioned outside his fortress?"

"Oh, well, that makes sense. I'll help you look for them if you want; I don't have anything better to do."

"Thanks, Rouge." Said Tails.

The two flew along, scanning the ground for their friends. Rouge, getting sidetracked, looked over at Tails and said, "You'll never believe what I saw Sonic reading."

Tails cringed, realizing what she must be talking about. "A book on dating," he mumbled. When was this gonna end?

Rouge looked surprised. "How did you know? Oh, right, I get it. You're his best friend; I'll bet he tells you everything."

"Not exactly…"

"Then why-?"

Tails cut the bat off, saying, "We should stop talking and focus on finding the others."

They continued their search in silence until Rouge saw someone below. She pointed, saying to Tails, "Hey, isn't that Shadow?"

Tails looked down to see the black and red hedgehog sitting on the roof of a building. "Shadow!" Tails called. He and Rouge landed next to Shadow. Shadow didn't look up. "Shadow, have you seen Sonic, or even Amy?"

"I saw Amy at the park earlier today. I would guess is on her way or has already arrived at her house right now."

"What about Sonic?"

"No, I haven't seen the Faker today."

"Oh well. Maybe Amy will know. That's really the only reason I wanted her."

"Hey Shadow," said Rouge, walking up to him, "Why don't you join us?"

"For what?"

"For a fight against Eggman."

"No thank you. I have some things on my mind at the moment."

"Actually Rouge, I only really needed Sonic. We're just gonna go in and crash all Eggman's robots and leave. There probably won't be much to it. It's just to prevent a future attack. But you're welcome to join us if you want. You too, Shadow."

"C'mon Shadow. Just a quick, easy sabotage mission; it'll be fun."

Shadow stood up. "I think I'll pass."

Rouge stepped in front of him, putting on a pouty expression. "Oh come on, Shadow. You're no fun. Where's your sense of adventure? Besides, maybe you could show up Sonic while you're at it."

Shadow smiled a very, very small smile, which seemed more evil than happy. "Fine," he said, losing the smile. "But only so you'll stop pestering me."

Rouge smiled. "I thought so."

Tails didn't know why Rouge was making such a big deal out of this; it was gonna be a simple attack. Go in, destroy Dr. Eggman's machines, and leave before he knew what had happened. "Um, okay. You can meet us at my workshop in, say about fifteen minutes."

Rouge took of into the air again. Tails glanced Shadow, then flew into the air, coming up beside Rouge. "Hey, Tails," said Rouge, flipping over and flying on her back. Tails guessed she must have had to practice this maneuver. "The more you have to help, the easier it'll be, right?"

"Rouge, it's really not that big of a deal."

Rouge gave Tails a serious look. "Ya' know, in my opinion, if you were able to find out about this then it's because Eggman wanted you to. And if Eggman wanted you to find out… well, there's more to this than you think. And you can never have too much back-up. Unless of course, more back-up makes you look bad and takes the attention away from you; then you should probably go solo."

Tails considered this. Not about the going solo part; about Eggman planning all this. "Who did you have in mind?"

Rouge flipped back over on her front and gave Tails a sly grin. "A certain echidna I know."

"Pfft. We couldn't use him; he's guarding the Master Emerald. You wouldn't be able to get him away from it."

"We'll see," said Rouge. "Meet'cha at the workshop." She flew away before Tails could even respond.

Tails sighed; he was searching alone again. After a while, he got tired and had to land. He blinked in surprise at his luck. There was Amy, sitting under a tree, eyes closed and a contented smile on her face. Tails blinked again. If he had been flying, he wouldn't have been able to spot Amy under the tree branches, and if he hadn't gotten tired at that moment, he would have flown on past. "Amy!" he called to her.

"Hm. Huh?" Amy asked, opening one eye. She saw Tails and opened the other one, sitting up. "Oh, hey Tails. What's up?"

"Have you seen Sonic anywhere?"

Amy did a happy sigh and flopped back against the tree, smacking her head against the trunk. She didn't seem to notice. "Yeah… I saw him." She smiled.

Tails decided not to ask. "Yeah?"

Amy sighed happily again. "Yeah. Just earlier today."

"Do you know where he went."

"Uh, yeah, I think so. I'll go get him."

"That's okay, you don't need to. Just tell me where he is and I'll go get him."

"No, I'd love to do it," said Amy standing up. "Be right back!"

"Um, I'll be at the workshop!" called Tails as Amy ran off. He hoped she had heard him. Tails looked at his watch. He should be heading back to his workshop to meet with Shadow. Tails left.


End file.
